Portable device with smart antenna

ABSTRACT

A portable device with smart antenna is disclosed, which includes an antenna array comprising a plurality of antennas, each antenna capable of receiving and/or transmitting signals, a phase and amplitude control unit coupled to the antenna array for controlling amplitude and phase of the plurality of the signals so as to dynamically control radiation pattern of the array antenna system, and a wireless network unit coupled to the phase and amplitude control unit for processing the signals.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefits of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/382,922, filed on Sep. 15, 2010 and entitled “SMART ANTENNA ANDSYSTEM USING THE SAME”, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/422,660,filed on Dec. 14, 2010 and entitled “SMART ANTENNA SYSTEM”, and U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/425,252, filed on Dec. 21, 2010 andentitled “PORTABLE DEVICE WITH SMART ANTENNA”, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable device, and moreparticularly, to a portable device with smart antenna for enhancingcommunication quality.

2. Description of the Prior Art

With the progression of information technology, portable devices, suchas laptop notebooks, PDAs, tablets, smart phones, etc., have beenintegrated with more functions. These functions may include wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), Bluetooth (BT), 3 G communication, or globalpositioning system (GPS). A conventional portable device usually usesomni-antennas for transmitting and receiving radio signals. Please referto FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a conventional portabledevice 10 according to the prior art. The portable device 10 usesomni-directional antennas 102 and 104 to receive radio signals from alldirections. As shown in FIG. 1, the omni-directional antennas 102 and104 are respectively connected with antenna connectors 106 and 108 viaantenna coaxial cables 110 and 112. Radio signals receiving by theomni-directional antennas 102 and 104 can be transmitted to a wirelessnetwork unit 100 for processing.

Moreover, in the prior art, antenna diversity technique is usually forreceiving or transmitting signals. However, the efficiency and gain ofomni directional antennas are not good enough. In such a situation,since the requirement for the quality of wireless communication isgetting higher, there's a need to improve receiving quality forachieving sufficient communication quality of the portable device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a portabledevice with smart antenna.

The present invention discloses a portable device with smart antenna.The portable device includes a main body; an adaptive smart antennasystem including an antenna array comprising a plurality of antennas,each antenna capable of receiving and/or transmitting signals; and aphase and amplitude control unit coupled to the antenna array forcontrolling amplitude and phase of the plurality of the signals so as todynamically control radiation pattern of the array antenna system; and awireless network unit coupled to the phase and amplitude control unitand the main body for processing the signals.

The present invention further discloses a portable device with smartantenna. The portable device includes main body; a switching smartantenna system including an antenna array comprising a plurality ofhigh-gain antennas, each high-gain antenna capable of receiving and/ortransmitting signals; and a switching beam control unit coupled to theantenna array for determining and controlling which high-gain antennasto receive and/or transmit signals; and a wireless network unit coupledto the switching beam control unit and the main body for processing thesignals.

The present invention further discloses a portable device with smartantenna. The portable device includes a main body; an adaptive smartantenna system including an first antenna array comprising a pluralityof antennas, each antenna capable of receiving and/or transmittingsignals; and a phase and amplitude control unit coupled to the firstantenna array for controlling amplitude and phase of the plurality ofthe signals; a switching smart antenna system, including a secondantenna array comprising a plurality of high-gain antennas, eachhigh-gain antenna capable of receiving and/or transmitting signals; anda switching beam control unit coupled to the first antenna array and thephase and amplitude control unit for determining and controlling whichhigh-gain antennas and antennas to receive and/or transmit signals; anda wireless network unit coupled to the switching beam control unit andthe main body for processing the signals.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional portable deviceaccording to the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a portable device with smart antennaaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an antenna pattern of the array antenna system shown in FIG.2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a portable device with smart antennaaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an antenna pattern of the array antenna system shown in FIG.4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a portable device with smart antennaaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a portabledevice 20 with smart antenna according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention. The portable device 20 includes a main body 200, anadaptive smart antenna system 202, and a wireless network unit 204. Theadaptive smart antenna system 202 includes an antenna array 206 and aphase and amplitude control unit 208. The antenna array 206 includesantennas ANT_1-ANT_4. Each antenna is capable of receiving input signalsand/or transmitting output signals. The phase and amplitude control unit208 is coupled to the antennas ANT_1-ANT_4 for controlling amplitude andphase of the input signals and output signals corresponding to theantennas ANT_1-ANT_4 so as to dynamically control radiation pattern ofthe antenna array 206. The wireless network unit 204 is coupled to thephase and amplitude control unit 208 for processing the input signalsand transmitting the output signals to the phase and amplitude controlunit 208.

In details, through the control operation of the phase and amplitudecontrol unit 208, the pattern of the antenna array 206 can bedynamically adjusted, and therefore, the desired direction and beampattern of the antenna array 206 can be obtained. For example, pleaserefer to FIG. 3, which is an antenna pattern of the antenna array 206shown in FIG. 2. After the input signals are received by the antennasANT_1-ANT_4, the phases and amplitudes of the input signals can bevaried by the phase and amplitude control unit 208. The width anddirection of the main lobe corresponding to the antenna array 206 can beadjusted accordingly. Similarly, the height of a side lobe correspondingto the antenna array 206 can also be adjusted accordingly. As a result,an adaptive beam in the direction and the angle is achieved for theantenna array 206. In other words, a desired beam steering action isaccomplished according to the cooperation of the antenna array 206 andthe phase and amplitude control unit 208. Like this, the output signalscan also be arranged by the phase and amplitude control unit 208 andoutputted via the antennas ANT_1-ANT_4, and not narrated herein.Therefore, the most adequate direction and beam pattern of the antennaarray 206 within a desired range can be obtained so that bettertransmission gain and efficiency is achieved for the portable device 20accordingly.

Furthermore, the antennas ANT_1-ANT_4 can be disposed on the main body200. For example, the antennas ANT_1-ANT_4 can be integrated at the edgeor back side of a display device 210 of the main body 200. Besides, theantennas ANT_1-ANT_4 can also be set around the portable device 20 as aperipheral device. In addition, the phase and amplitude control unit 208is connected with the wireless network unit 204 via an antenna connector212 shown in FIG. 2. The phase and amplitude control unit 208 can bedisposed or integrated on the main body 200, or coupled to the portabledevice 20 as a peripheral device. The wireless network unit 204 can bedisposed on the main body 200. For example, the wireless network unit204 can be implemented in a card form, such as with a PCI mini card, aPCI half mini card, or any other type of connection card which fits theportable device 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless network unit 204 isconnected with the main body 200 via a corresponding edge connector 214,and this should not be a limitation of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a schematic diagram of a portabledevice 40 with smart antenna according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention. Please note that the units in the portable device 40shown in FIG. 4 with the same designations as those in the portabledevice 20 shown in FIG. 2 have similar operations and functions, andfurther description thereof is omitted for brevity. The interconnectionsof the units are as shown in FIG. 4. The portable device 40 includes amain body 400, a switching smart antenna system 402, a wireless networkunit 404, a display device 410, an antenna connector 412, and an edgeconnector 214. The switching smart antenna system 402 includes anantenna array 406 and a switching beam control unit 408. The antennaarray 406 includes high-gain antennas ANT_H1-ANT_H4. Each high-gainantenna is capable of receiving input signals and/or transmitting outputsignals. The switching beam control unit 408 is coupled to the high-gainantennas ANT_H1-ANT_H4 for determining and controlling which high-gainantennas to receive input signals and/or transmit output signals so asto dynamically control radiation pattern of the antenna array 406. Thewireless network unit 404 is coupled to the switching beam control unit408 for processing the input signals and transmitting the output signalsto the switching beam control unit 408.

Since each of the high-gain antennas ANT_H1-ANT_H4 has its specific beampatterns, the switching beam control unit 408 can determine and controlwhich high-gain antennas to receive or transmit signal according to thedirection and angle of a communication target. For example, please referto FIG. 5, which is an antenna pattern of the antenna array 406 shown inFIG. 4. In other words, the switching beam control unit 408 can selectthe most appropriate high-gain antenna (or high-gain antennas) accordingto the direction and angle of a communication target so that the patternof the antenna array 406 can be dynamically adjusted, and therefore, thedesired direction and beam pattern of the antenna array 406 can beobtained. As a result, an appropriate beam switching in the desireddirection and angle is achieved for the antenna array 406. In otherwords, a desired beam switching action is accomplished according to thecooperation of the antenna array 406 and switching beam control unit408. Therefore, the most adequate direction and beam pattern of theantenna array 406 within a desired range can be obtained so that bettertransmission gain and efficiency is achieved for the portable device 40accordingly.

Furthermore, the high-gain antennas ANT_H1-ANT_H4 can be disposed on themain body 400. For example, the high-gain antennas ANT_H1-ANTlH4 can beintegrated at the edge or back side of a display device 410 of the mainbody 400. Besides, the high-gain antennas ANT_H1-ANT_H4 can also be setaround the portable device 40 as a peripheral device. In such asituation, a plurality of beam directions can be derived from theswitching smart antenna system 402 to achieve space division multipleaccess (SDMA). Thus, antenna pattern diversity and polarizationdiversity can also be achieved by placing the high-gain antennasANT_H1-ANT_H4 at different locations and directions. In addition, theswitching beam control unit 408 is connected with the wireless networkunit 404 via an antenna connector 412 shown in FIG. 4. The switchingbeam control unit 408 can be disposed or integrated on the main body400, or coupled to the portable device 40 as a peripheral device. Thewireless network unit 404 can be disposed on the main body 400. Forexample, the wireless network unit 404 can be implemented in a cardform, such as with a PCI mini card, a PCI half mini card, or any othertype of connection card which fits the portable device 40. As shown inFIG. 4, the wireless network unit 404 is connected with the main body400 via a corresponding edge connector 414, and this should not be alimitation of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a schematic diagram of a portabledevice 60 with smart antenna according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention. Please note that the units in the portable device 60shown in FIG. 6 with the same designations as those in the portabledevices 20 and 40 shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 have similar operations andfunctions, and further description thereof is omitted for brevity. Theinterconnections of the units are as shown in FIG. 6. The portabledevice 60 is a combination design of the portable devices 20 and 40. Theportable device 60 includes a main body 600, a switching smart antennasystem 602, an adaptive smart antenna system 604, a wireless networkunit 606, a display device 614, an antenna connector 616 and an edgeconnector 618. The switching smart antenna system 602 includes anantenna array 606 and a switching beam control unit 608, and theadaptive smart antenna system 604 includes an antenna array 610 and aphase and amplitude control unit 612. The antenna array 606 includeshigh-gain antennas ANT_H1-ANT_H4, and the antenna array 610 includesantennas ANT_1-ANT_4. Each antenna or high-gain antenna is capable ofreceiving input signals and/or transmitting output signals. As can beenseen, the phase and amplitude control unit 612 is coupled to theantennas ANT_1-ANT_4 for controlling amplitude and phase of the inputsignals and output signals corresponding to the antennas ANT_1-ANT_4 soas to dynamically control radiation pattern of the antenna array 610.The switching beam control unit 608 is coupled to the high-gain antennasANT_H1-ANT_H4 and the phase and amplitude control unit 612 fordetermining and controlling which high-gain antennas or antennas toreceive input signals and/or transmit output signals. In other words,the switching beam control unit 608 can select the appropriate antennasfrom the antenna array 606 and antenna array 610 to dynamically controlradiation pattern of the antenna arrays 606 and 610. As a result, theportable device 60 can offer all the advantages of the portable devices20 and 40, and provide different antenna patterns and cover all theradiation space.

On the other hand, a directional antenna is an antenna which radiateshigher power in one or more specific directions allowing for increasedperformance. The directional antenna has many advantages in acorresponding directional radiation pattern, such as high gain fordesired signal, long transmission distance, better RSSI, low side lobefor interference, and low noise floor. Preferably, at least one of theantennas (or high gain antennas) of the above-mentioned antenna array isa directional antenna. For example, suppose the antennas ANT_1-ANT_4shown in FIG. 2 are directional antennas and configured to direct towarddifferent directions respectively. Since each the antennas ANT₁-ANT₄ hasits specific directional radiation pattern, all of the directionalradiation patterns corresponding to the antennas ANT₁-ANT₄ substantiallyform an omni directional radiation pattern to receive and transmitsignals from all directions, and for the purpose this is merely anembodiment of the present invention and should not be a limitationembodiment of the present invention. Besides, an amount of directionalantennas included in the antenna arrays is not limited to any specificnumber, as long as radiation patterns thereof can substantially form adesired radiation pattern to receive and transmit signals from alldirections.

Please note that the portable devices 20, 40, and 60 shown in FIGS. 2,4, and 6 are respectively applied in a notebook, those only representexemplary embodiments of the present invention and should not be alimitation of the present invention. Each of the portable devices 20,40, and 60 can also be a PDA, a tablet, a smart phone, or any otherportable device.

In summary, the present invention utilizes smart antenna design in theportable device so that the most adequate direction and beam pattern ofthe corresponding antenna array within a desired range can be obtainedduring communication, further enhancing transmission gain andefficiency, and communication quality.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable device with smart antenna, comprising:a main body; an adaptive smart antenna system, comprising: an antennaarray comprising a plurality of antennas, each antenna capable ofreceiving and/or transmitting signals; and a phase and amplitude controlunit coupled to the antenna array for controlling amplitude and phase ofthe plurality of the signals so as to dynamically control radiationpattern of the array antenna system; and a wireless network unit coupledto the phase and amplitude control unit and the main body for processingthe signals.
 2. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofantennas is disposed on the main body.
 3. The portable device of claim2, wherein the plurality of antennas is integrated at the edge or backside of a display device of the main body, respectively.
 4. The portabledevice of claim 1, wherein the phase and amplitude control unit isdisposed on the main body.
 5. The portable device of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the plurality of the antennas is a directional antenna. 6.A portable device with smart antenna, comprising: a main body; aswitching smart antenna system, comprising: an antenna array comprisinga plurality of high-gain antennas, each high-gain antenna capable ofreceiving and/or transmitting signals; and a switching beam control unitcoupled to the antenna array for determining and controlling whichhigh-gain antennas to receive and/or transmit signals; and a wirelessnetwork unit coupled to the switching beam control unit and the mainbody for processing the signals.
 7. The portable device of claim 6,wherein the plurality of high-gain antennas is disposed on the mainbody.
 8. The portable device of claim 7, wherein the plurality ofhigh-gain antennas is integrated at the edge or back side of a displaydevice of the main body, respectively.
 9. The portable device of claim6, wherein the switching beam control unit is disposed on the main body.10. The portable device of claim 6, wherein at least one of theplurality of the high-gain antennas is a directional antenna.
 11. Aportable device with smart antenna, comprising: a main body; an adaptivesmart antenna system, comprising: a first antenna array comprising aplurality of antennas, each antenna capable of receiving and/ortransmitting signals; and a phase and amplitude control unit coupled tothe first antenna array for controlling amplitude and phase of theplurality of the signals; a switching smart antenna system, comprising:a second antenna array comprising a plurality of high-gain antennas,each high-gain antenna capable of receiving and/or transmitting signals;and a switching beam control unit coupled to the first antenna array andthe phase and amplitude control unit for determining and controllingwhich high-gain antennas and antennas to receive and/or transmitsignals; and a wireless network unit coupled to the switching beamcontrol unit and the main body for processing the signals.
 12. Theportable device of claim 11, wherein the plurality of antennas of thefirst antenna array or high-gain antennas of the second antenna array isdisposed on the main body.
 13. The portable device of claim 12, whereinthe plurality of antennas or high-gain antennas is integrated at theedge or back side of a display device of the main body, respectively.14. The portable device of claim 11, wherein the phase and amplitudecontrol unit or the switching beam control unit is disposed on the mainbody.
 15. The portable device of claim 11, wherein at least one of theplurality of the antennas of the first antenna array or high-gainantennas of the second antenna array is a directional antenna.